France trip day 2: Halloween Time in Disneyland Paris!

Celebrating an early Halloween at Disneyland Paris!


On Friday, the 5th of October, Bert and I got up at 6am, to make sure we could have 7am breakfast and be in Disneyland Paris at 9am at the latest. We wanted to be there early, because I had found out via magic forum that if you have a EU disability card (which I do) then you can get a free entry ticket for the person that is accompanying you. 

 

On the forum they said to go to the regular queue, which was already super long when we got there. So Bert stayed in it, and I asked a CM that was there to answer questions where we should go. And luckily I did, because they just changed things that week, and now people have to go to the Donald Desk to get that ticket. So the kind person on the forum hadn’t misinformed me at all, they just didn’t know that things had changed, which happens. At the Donald Desk, they issued a ticket for Bert, free of charge (thank you Disneyland Paris) and informed us that we would be able to enter the park from 9.30 onwards. Because we had gotten there early, and it was only 9 when we had our entries sorted, we decided to walk to Disney Village for a bit.

 

I liked how Disney Village was decorated for Halloween. Sadly, the light that day was so, so bright, which made taking photos hard. So my photos aren’t as nice as they could have been. Oh well. We only went into World of Disney because I wanted to look for the Monsters University Tsum Tsums. Which they didn’t have, so we went into the old Disney Store, and they DID have them. So I got the Mike and Sully one. I had said I wouldn’t buy more because my Tsum Tsum box was full, but when I found out there would be MU Tsums, I just bought a bigger box at Tiger (I need 3 more Tsum Tsums now!). We did see them in the Disneyland Park at Lily’s Boutique, so if you’re looking for the MU ones: those are the two shops I saw them at. And of course we made sure to be back at the park at 9.30, which was admittance time for us :).

 

 

After taking a programme and some photos of Main Street Station and the Main Street USA cupcake, our first stop was city hall to get a disability card. I always had an orange one, but now that the state has finally recognised me as disabled (Belgium is NOT a good county to be disabled in, but that’s a whole other story, one I don’t really want to go into), I now got a green card. The CM was very confused as to why the back was blank, and even insinuating it wasn’t a real one (excuse me?!), just because since the GDPR became active, cards don’t list disabilities on the back anymore. Legally, pretty much no one is entitled to ask you what your disability is. So I explained that to her, and told her I was happy to provide her with any information she needed to issue my card. I was so confused, for a second I thought I was missing out on some kind of vital paperwork, and then I realised that it was the GDPR. But yeah, my card got filled in (badly, but that aside), and she kindly explained where I had to go if I wanted to watch the parade or Illuminations from the designated zone for people with disabilities. Which was really nice of her, because these spots can be a little tricky to find when there’s a lot of people waiting for parades etc.





 

Card acquired, we took some more photos along Main Street whilst we walked to Frontierland. 





 

Because we wanted to meet Jack Skellington. Bert, who self-proclaims he is THE WORST at picking queues, said “oh look this queue is so short, it’s going to start in 10 minutes, it’ll be 20 minutes tops”, don’t get a return time (note that at this point I still thought that green and orange disability cards were just different colours). How wrong he was, because Jack really took his time to interact with guests, it took us an hour to meet him. Luckily his cemetery was still in an area where I could sit down on side bits. And of course, we found out that if you had a green card, you didn’t have to wait at all… Bert has been told he is NEVER EVER to pick another queue.





 

Some pictures from the queue. After last June’s ride, we gave Big Thunder Mountain a pass. 

 

Meeting Jack was awesome. Turns out he also spoke Dutch, which was super cool, and he was so interactive. Throughout the years, he’s always been one of my favourite characters to meet, just because of this. I’ve met him every year I’ve been to DLP for Halloween (well, the Halloween season) since his meet and greet became a thing back in 2008. It’s probably my one set Halloween tradition. 

 
I had been taking photos with my Agfa Click, and just like the day before, it froze up! This time I point blank refused to take off the film, and swapped out the Click for my instax. Such a total bummer though! After that, we decided to walk to Fantasyland to see about meeting Maleficent. For some characters you get a return ticket, which was the case with Maleficent.

 

Ticket safely tucked away, we went on our way to where Cheshire was meeting people. He wasn’t even out yet, and there was quite the queue already. There were also several people queuing for a return ticket.

 

Because we didn’t particularly feel like standing around, and figured we’d get a ticket later. And go into Star Tours instead. Which was only a 10 minute (total!) wait for us. AND we got to see an English viewing, which just made it even BETTER! 



 

We were still nicely on time at that point to meet Maleficent when we came out of Star Tours and arrived back at the Cheshire Cat meet and greet first to get a return ticket. Sadly they had already run out of meet and greet tickets. I wasn’t feeling up to standing, and there was no way I could have for 20 minutes or so, so I decided to go to Maleficent. Who was also super awesome to meet. I was a little bummed that I hadn’t been able to meet Cheshire, but hopefully I’ll have better luck next year. Fingers crossed!

 

As we both wanted to see the new parade, we decided to sit down in front of the Emporium to watch Mickey’s Halloween Celebration. Sadly, the sun was super unforgiving, so all our photos were ultra-bright with super harsh shadows.



 

After that, Bert still wasn’t hungry, but I was, so we went to Cable Car Bake Shop. I wanted to get the reusable cup that you could buy with the Pause Délice, as well as some of the Halloween treats. The Pause Délice had the option of a Nutella cupcake (fuck no, not ever!) or a chocolate cupcake (urgh, also no), Bert had to eat the chocolate cupcake (if it had been a Nutella one he wouldn’t have touched it either). He also had to drink the coffee, but hey, caffeine am I right? I had bought the Halloween donut for myself, because I had a Halloween donut in 2005 and it was the best donut I had ever had, well right up to the point where I had the orange donut from By Jilke, but I digress, mostly because it’s the same thing. But DLP really upped their donut game because this one had orange and blueberry jelly inside! It would have been even better if it had just been blueberry jelly though. I also got a cookie, but I wasn’t about to eat everything in one go, I can’t have that much sugar!

 

I did have an ear of the delicious cookie later on though, when we were waiting for the second showing of Mickey’s Halloween Celebration. The light was still rubbish, but it was at least slightly better than it was the first time :).





 

We decided to go to Frontierland to look at the Coco decorations, and take photos of course. 



 

On our way to Adventureland to ride pirates! I had a lot of reservations about the remake of that ride, but I have to say I quite enjoy it. I just wish they would make it a little less dark, so taking photos would be easier. But hey, can’t have it all. I also like the pirate Jack o’ Lantern tree outside the ride exit. Adventureland doesn’t really do Halloween, bar these guys and some merch. Which is a shame really. 

 

We did walk past Jafar doing meet and greets at the Bazar on our way to see It’s Good to be Bad, with the Disney Villains on the castle stage.



 

It was a little hard to photograph, because everyone was sitting down, and there were people sitting in front of me (my fault for not being there sooner entirely!). The photographer constantly running in front of people was most of the issue though. Thanks to ED92, I knew that Donald would be meeting guests on the right side of the stage, so I went there straight away. I have to say that DLP could have handled the meet and greet better by simply making people queue. Now the characters were either mobbed, or they let the character choose who to meet. Meaning that people who came later, and pushed to the front with their spawn, had the advantage. And that just wasn’t fair at all. If there had been a queue, it would have been much, much better.

 

I got lucky though, I told Bert after about 10 minutes (I was seriously reaching my limit), if I don’t get picked next, we’re leaving. But then Donald did pick me, so yay. Sadly the light was shit, but hey, still got a picture together.

 

I was feeling pretty rubbish by then, so Bert took me straight to the deli and got me a grilled cheese (would not recommend) so I could have something non sugary. We had checked out a couple of other places, but they were so crowded and the queues were super long, whilst Market House Delicatessen’s queue wasn’t very long at all, moved very steadily (so quickly) and there were space outside to sit in the shade. Which was ideal in such beautiful weather. In any case, something not sugary was just what I needed, although next time I’ll plan better so I can eat something else than that vile grilled cheese. I could only eat half, so I asked at the counter for one of those bags for cookies and such to put in the other half, which was no problem. I did consider going to meet Stitch on our way back to Frontierland to do some shopping, but I knew I would have to stand for the parade later, so decided against it. Mercantile Traders in Frontierland is traditionally one of the shops where you can buy Halloween merchandise, so that’s where we went.

 

It’s not completely accurate as I got the cookies at U the day before, but you get the point :). 

I ended up getting two coin purses (one as décor, one to use), a pin (it’s from last year, but they were still selling the left overs this year, which was great as I didn’t go to DLP last year), and a Christmas present for my friend Lora. When I was at the register, there was this one guy in front of me that wanted to exchange a pin he bought for another one. Which wasn’t an issue, but the manager had to come out to do it. The CMs that were around (one was at the end of shift and the one taking over was there already) were also super friendly. I felt really bad for them though, because it took quite a bit of time to convince the system that a trade needed to happen, and then when the guy found out that the pin he wanted to exchange for was €3 more expensive, he just went “oh no it’s fine, I don’t want it anymore!”. He was being super snooty about it too. Every time I think of pin trading, I encounter some hard core pin trader like he was, and I’m put right off the idea. I have a lot less patience for assholery than these kind CMs, so I don’t think I should be involved in trading. But yeah, I paid for my items, the CM sorting out my purchase was super friendly too. So I felt extra bad for him to have had to deal with the shit of the other guy right at the beginning of his shift. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that people totally get to change their mind, but acting super snooty about it after people have done a lot of effort for you isn’t on.

 

When we got out, Miss Peach, the Frontierland cupcake girl was there, talking about her cupcake in Spanish. I thought she was doing a great job, she was super friendly, lively and awesome to interact with. She was also fluent in French, English and Spanish (at least those were the languages I heard her speak, maybe she spoke more), which was pretty impressive. Even when she was leaving, she still took the time to hand out some buttons and talk to people as she was leaving, even though she couldn’t post for more photos. She complemented me on my lipstick, as orange is her favourite colour (I was wearing Coral Plated by M.A.C, if anyone is wondering, which is mighty comfortable even though it’s a liquid lipstick) and I complemented her on her dress. I did get a button. And then Bert regretted not asking her for one, and I offered to give him mine, which he refused. We did consider going back to meet her at 4.15, as her kind attendant was happy to tell people when she’d be there next, but we opted to go find a spot for the parade instead.







 

Maleficent as a steampunk dragon is my fave float!

In hind sight we might have been better of finding the disability zone, but it’s a good spot nevertheless. It’s just well, it’s a great spot to see the parade, but urgh, PEOPLE. We were there very well in time, so we were right at the curb. And of course, there were people arriving with children, encouraging them to try to sneak in in front of us the second it started. Which is super annoying when you’re trying to take photos. We also had the issue of this douchebag CM on our side of the street. He was getting people on the sidewalk super early, which was fine in itself, were it not that it was a totally moot point because Who clearly felt that people with proper camera equipment were to be bothered because he kept on getting in front of Bert and me so we couldn’t properly take photos (my DSLR is basic AF, Bert's, however, is not...). He should have made a point of telling parents to keep their spawn off the goddamn street. At one point, after having to tell the same brat to get off the street FIVE times, he resorted to pick her up and place her on the sidewalk. Did he tell the parents? No of course not, because in Disneyland Paris, bad parenting is somehow celebrated and encouraged! Like Bert tells people: I love going to Disneyland Paris, but goddammit the other people… it’s always some sort of BS.



 

After Stars on Parade, we decided to go back to Frontierland to eat at The Lucky Nugget Saloon. Well, we wanted to go on the boat first, but it had already stopped going for the day :(. So off to Lucky Nugget we went. It was only the second time we had food there, and we weren’t that please the last time either. But after this time, we are definitely NEVER going back. Firstly, you have to stand for far too long before you are allowed in and to place an order, which requires MORE standing. Which is a problem if hey, you can’t stand for long. Secondly, I explicitly asked the greeter if it would be ok for me to get a kid’s menu and he said yes. And then it turned out I wasn’t allowed. But hey, I was allowed to order all the pieces from the kid’s menu at €7 more expensive! If Bert hadn’t been there, I would have said: yeah no, I’m not digging this, I was told it would be allowed, I’m leaving. But Bert hates that kind of confrontation, so we were stuck ordering there. Then we get seated at the long bar. Bert explicitly asks to be seated at a table because A: if I have to sit at a bar, on a bar stool, for a long(er) time, I will get back problems and B: there’s no goddamn room at that bar to comfortably eat. CM tells him that no, because only groups of 3 and up get to sit at a table. So I got back up, because those bar stools were hurting my back after 2 minutes, go to the CM and tell him “excuse me sir, but I have a bad back, amongst other issues, and I can’t sit on a bar stool without fubarring my back. I have a green disability card, can we please sit at a table. I’m happy to show you the card.” And he immediately apologises, tells me that of course, if I have a GREEN disability card, of course I can sit at a table, and he’ll sort it out for us right away. I did thank him and told him there was no need to apologise, because we should have just volunteered that info straight away. It was just a little miscommunication. Nothing he had to apologise over! (I did apologise to him though, it was my fault!) So he gets us a table, which was great, but it leaves me to wonder, what if someone with a bad back, who also can’t sit at the bar comfortably, wants to sit at a table, without having a green disability card? Will they just say no? What about orange cards? So basically: guys, if you can not sit at a bar, or anything higher than a table, just don’t go to Lucky Nugget. Don’t put yourself through potential grief, just go somewhere else. We will in the future. For sure. It’s not that the CMs aren’t friendly, its just the misinformation and the struggle to be seated comfortably. Its not worth the food being brought to your table. Especially because there are places with better food in the park. 




 

When we got out, it was getting dark slowly, and a lot of people were starting to sit down for Illuminations. I, stupidly, thought that it wouldn’t be much of an issue to see Illuminations because after all, there was an area for people with disabilities. So we went to take photos on Town Square first.

 

By the time we got back to Central Plaza, it was dark. And the streets were FULL of people sitting down. Meaning it was near impossible to get to the disability area. The next issue was that whilst I had a map that told me where the disability area was, it didn’t say where the entrance to it was. Nor was it indicated ANYWHERE. First, a kind Dutch couple pointed us towards where they thought it was. By the time we got to that point, I was having a panic attack. The CMs there saw that, and still turned me away to the actual entrance further on. What if I had been on the point of having a seizure (luckily I don’t get them, but other people do). Or having a bad hyperventilation attack (which does happen), or a stress induced asthma attack (also known to happen)? But we got there in the end, because going forward to the entrance was at that point easier than going out of the park. Once we got in, there were really kind Dutch speaking people all around us, and that helped putting me at ease. There was a group with a young lady in a wheelchair, who were also complaining about how dangerous it is like this, and that there should be a little passing space left in the streets so people with disabilities can get to the right area. But not just them, also people that just need to leave for whatever reason (try getting out with a small child that needs to pee!), or to go to the Infinity area. Or heck, a CM needing to get to their post. People just can’t move, so if something happens, it’s going to be dangerous chaos. It’s AWESOME that DLP has so many facilities for people with disabilities, it absolutely is. They are doing far better than many other theme parks, they really are. BUT, that doesn’t mean I can’t and I shouldn’t point out that there still are issues that need to be improved upon. Pointing out those issues, however, doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what DLP does for people with disabilities, I honestly really DO appreciate it. Because without their efforts, I wouldn’t be able to go there and enjoy as many things at the parks that I do now. 





 

But yeah, that rant aside, Illuminations was amazing. It was the first time I managed to see it, and whilst I’m not sure I’d put myself through that hassle, I was still glad I saw it!

 

We decided to linger a bit after the show was over, because we knew that a lot of people were leaving the park, and that we’d just get stuck again if we left straight away. Doing that definitely helped, because we were able to get out quite easily. 

 

Studios Park at night on the way to Disney Village. We didn’t go there this time, but we did last time for Marvel Summer of Heroes :).

 

Because the last RER was at 20 past midnight, and it was around 9PM, we decided to stop by Disney Village because I had told Bert the spirit jerseys had sold out in a day, and he didn’t believe a word of it. Turns out they had restocked the pink one already, but wouldn’t restock the black, which I wanted ‘till the next day. I did look around the rest of Disney Fashion, because I was interested in the Eleven Paris collection. But the quality was absolutely dreadful for that price! Spirit jerseys are also hella expensive, but at least they’re worth their money quality wise. So needless to say, I didn’t get any of the Eleven Paris collection. I did get a pair of Mickey Mouse earrings with Swarowski stones (I don’t care about the brand, I just liked the earrings). I got the November ones because I liked the colour of the stones best. It’s not amber, but it looks a lot like it, and I like that :). I’ve worn them quite a lot since then, and they are really good quality. So yeah, worth the nearly €20 I would say. 

We were at the RER station before 10PM, but it was definitely past 10 before we were on a train that was actually leaving. The first train we were on suddenly wouldn’t go anymore. And then the next one did go, but it was terribly slow! But we got at the hotel without any other issues :). 
Handy tip, if you have left over grilled cheese, just chuck it. Because I ate mine late at night in the hotel room, together with another bit of cookie and I was sick. I slept so terrible! Luckily I had vogalib with me, else it would have been much worse than it was, but still. I would NOT recommend the grilled cheese if you have a sensitive stomach or digestive issues! 

All Disneyland Paris photos so far, because I'm not done with editing yet, are here :) 
Day 1 of our France trip, Paris, is here :) 

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